The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) is organising a Regional Workshop on “Engaging Youth in the Implementation Phase of the CAADP Transformation Agenda – KIS” on 9-10 May 2013 at the FARA Headquarters in Accra, Ghana.

The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the Young Professionals’ Platform for Agricultural Research and Development (YPARD)-Africa are searching for young agri-preneurs who would like to showcase their work during the FARA Science Week. The invited agri-preneurs will get the opportunity to exhibit their work through the market place. In addition, they would like to invite young and innovative professionals to take part in the youth and gender side-event.

UNDP/ SPC-LRD Press Release, 11 April 2013 – [Pacific Islands]

The popularity of a Pacific-wide e-discussion about challenges in engaging Pacific youth in agriculture, forestry and food security, has prompted a one-week extension up to 18 April 2013.

ICTs have proved to be effective tools in stimulating young people’s interest in agriculture. The added value of these technologies for youth in agriculture lies at least at three levels: ICTs offer new marketing tools to enhance more than in the past (youth-led) agricultural businesses; ICTs help promote agricultural interest and opportunities for youth, and finally, they bring about new jobs linked to agricultural software and ICT-based agribusinesses (mobile applications (mAgri), market information systems, etc).

FARA is the apex organization for agricultural research for development in Africa. The FARA Secretariat is the lead institution for Pillar IV of NEPAD’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) which encompasses agricultural research and technology dissemination and adoption. FARA works closely with sub-regional organizations (SROs) and national agricultural research and extension systems to ensure effective implementation of CAADP activities. FARA is seeking to recruit a qualified individual to join its team as Social Media Intern.

Interview with Sithembile Ndema Mwamakamba, from Zimbabwe, who works at the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) where she coordinates the Youth in Agriculture project. She also manages the Women Accessing Realigned Markets (WARM) project designed to strengthen the capacity of women farmers to influence agricultural policy development in Southern Africa.

"With a greater focus on value chains in recent years, there are now far more opportunities for young people to find rewarding careers in the food and farming sector. However, governments need to formulate policies that capitalise on the energy and entrepreneurship of the youth to successfully attract them to the sector."

CTA’s web2.0 training programme has sparked enormous interest across ACP countries. Organisations and individuals have shown themselves hungry to learn about social tools and platforms which can support their collaborative work, and how social media can be adapted to their particular contexts and needs. But which groups are the most enthusiastic adopters of web2.0 tools, and what impact does that adoption have, in terms of personal development, institutional changes, and new opportunities for beneficiaries in the context of development?

From 14 - 16 November 2012, CTA welcomes some 25 youth champions and experts from around the ACP region to a Strategic Youth Stakeholder Workshop held in the Netherlands.

Youth has been an important area of focus for CTA. Aware of the key role young people should play, CTA has undertaken many activities over the years to ensure that youth are more involved in agriculture. In its 2011-2015 Strategic Plan, CTA reaffirmed its commitment to young people once more by ensuring that they are fully included in programmes, partnership agreements, agriculture value chain, rural development and policy decisions.

On the occasion of the 2012 Conference of the African Chapter of the International Association of Agricultural Information Specialists (IAALD) the ARDYIS project implemented by CTA will organize a series of activities, including the prize giving ceremony of the YoBloCo Awards and a workshop:

Involving youth in agricultural development and decision making processes is key to ensuring sustainable development in Africa, and framing this within the context of ICTs and entrepreneurship provides a valuable dimension to the discourse of agricultural modernization and prosperity. Her Excellency Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture of African Union Commission, said this while officiating at a workshop held in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, 29 March 2012, on youth, ICT and entrepreneurship in agriculture, organised by Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Co-operation (CTA) and NEPAD E-Africa Programme.